Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-10-06
IRONTON. MO-, THURSDAY.
.T. =. r. on the Road.

tnal peculiar PeTIuuioo VI sho So'oeh ioo
ripening foliage and deeaying vegeta
ton, there comes over me restlessnes
"a desire to leave the habitation o
man and with my trusty rifle seek th.
solitu,ies of nature, the mountain fast
ness where the wild deer roam at will
At such times / can hardly contro
myself; / feel like Gagged bird always
striving to get out to spread its wings
and away to the mountains brow. A
few days ago I had that same desire tt
come over me, and as there is no longer
the deer and other game in the noun
tains as in the days of long ago, did
the next best thing: went to the sta
ton and bought little bit of paste
board that said good for first-class seal
to Sabula. After seating myself in the
car, as we went whirling through
deep cuts, over high fills, around short
curves, past farms, / gave myself up to
thought, and as the conductor came
along and you hand him that bit OF
paste board, how many strange faces
he looks upon every day; and then the
engineer as he sits perched up in his
cab, with hand OH the lever, with eyes
ever on the road, not moment but his
eyes are watching, for are not the lives
of hundreds in his care, and few ever
think of the hardships he endures for
their sakes? I have always looked up
on the engineer us hero. as one OF the
gods WHO hold the lives of thousands
in his hand and as we come to theplace
you are to get off, the conductor or por-
ter comes and helps you down; it makes
one think of the watchful care of the
Great Conductor and Engineer of the
universe. How His watehful eye is
always upon US, to guard us from all
harm and keep our feet from going
amiss; and when we have reached the
home of our friends and with happy
greetings we are made to feel we are
among dear and kind friends, and after
we are comfortably seated in the big
rocker, / find the mother and daught-
ers preparing pears for canning. So
with their permission I take out my
knife and assist them, for there is moth
ing like better than helping about
such work. Did you ever go to an old
fashioned apple pairing, Or corn huek-
ing, or cotton seeding? If you have
not you have lostsome of the pleasures
of life. Did you ever hold a skein of
yarn for some pretty girl to wind? I
have often Thought that Benjamin
franklin got his idea of electricity from
holding yarn for some one. How such
work makes us social; how fast we
talk, and how quick. all too soon. the
day is gone, and as the evening shades
appear and the day closes with the
evening meal, with all the members of
the family gathered around the table
loaded with all the good things the
heart could wish, the father seated at
the head of the table " ith head bowed
asks the blessing upon the meal, it
makes one feel there is no place like
home. And the mother, how each one
looks up to her as she pesses the differ
ent kinds of food and sees that no one
is left out. What would a home be
without mother? Wherever a moth
er is, there is home. After the evening
meal, the time is all too quickly passed
in social conversation, and bedtime is
announced. After laying by all our
cares and apxieties, and once more
committing ourselves to the kind care
of the Giver of all good, we rest 10
peace and quiet until the light of an
other day, and after being refreshed in
body and mind, we enter upon the
duties of another day. AS [ walk
around town see such sights of those
logs, piles upon piles, fifty or sixty feet
long. i had been told that the timber
was being exhausted all along the road
and / saw they were putting up new
mill near the site where one was re-
moved a short time ago. This is the
fourth mill at this place. After look
ing around while, got on my broth
er's horse and started down the road
for Annapolis. How many times that
road crosses the creek / cannot say
now, for forgot to count. AS I rode
along leisurely I could but think of the
first time ever passed along that same
road almost half century ago; how
dreary the country looked that day all
covered with snow, and the houses sc
far apart, it almost made one fee
homesick. When / reached Pit Rus
sells mill I gave the horse over to his
care. After looking around his mil
and millyard with its vast piles of lum
ber. waiked down through the town
Teams coming and going constantly
loaded with logs and timber-th
seems to be no end to the timber.
called on DIR. May and family; h'
showed me the new mill that takes tn.
place of the one burned down few
weeks ago, most ready for running. /
is much larger than the one burned
| What vast improvements have beer
male i'm the last few years in mills
After being shown all the new i'm
provements, we sat down tn table
bountifully supplied with the goot
things of this life. and one of the larg
est watermelons I have seen for years
raised on the Doctors farm on Blacf
River by Mr.. Fred. Hunt. AS it il
most train time and am going dowr
the road. must say goodbye. Hardly